Mary and Her Joseph
by elang4
Summary: A Trory fic! Set at the end of The Fundamental Things Apply where the guy in the laundry room is Tristan. Follow Rory through Yale and see her and Tristan reconnect. There will be a bit of javajunkie as well!
1. Chapter 1

**Don't worry, I am continuing with Found, Now Home and I hope to get the next chapter of that up in the next couple of days! :) I just wanted to do something a bit different and do a story more focused on Rory.**

 **So this is going to be a Trory fic. It will start in season 4 at the end of the episode The Fundamental Things Apply when Rory goes into the laundry room and talks with that William guy. However, in this it's going to be Tristan. This will also have a bit of javajunkie as well but I love writing Trory so that's why I've chosen to do this. I really hope you like it! :)**

Chapter 1

Rory wandered down to the laundry room at Yale. She thought back to the day before which was the day of her disastrous date and she still cringed at how awkward she had been. Her mom had been right, she wasn't used to dating. With Dean and Jess, it was relationships. She hoped all her dates wouldn't be this bad because if they were, she was screwed. Maybe she would meet someone and she would just know, a bit like Luke's gut theory.

Rory soon came out of her daze as she reached the laundry room. She stopped when she saw someone using the machine that her clothes had been in. "Uh excuse me?" She said. She was shocked when the person turned round and she realised he wasn't a stranger at all.

"Hey Mary.." Tristan said with his trademark smirk.

"How..why..what are you doing here?" Rory stammered.

"Doing laundry." Tristan smirked.

 _Yep same old Tristan._ She thought. "Tristan.." She said annoyed.

"I go here." He said.

"Yale? You're going here? To study?" Rory asked surprised.

Tristan chuckled. "Why Mary, I'm hurt. Do you not think I'm up to studying at such a prestigious school?" He joked.

"That's not what I meant. I just..I thought..Yale!" She exclaimed not really knowing what to say. She never imagined she would be bumping into Tristan DuGrey again, let alone at Yale.

"It's a good college." Tristan shrugged. "At military school, I was able to have lots of time to think and being there made me realise I wanted to make something of myself, to prove to my father that I wasn't such a big waste of space."

"I'm sure he doesn't think that." Rory said.

"Oh he does. He couldn't wait to ship me off to military school. Anyway, I looked into colleges and here I am." Tristan said. "I could ask you the same question. I thought you were Harvard bound. What happened there? Don't tell me you didn't get accepted. I know Paris didn't but she didn't say anything about you." He said.

"No I got in." Rory said.

"So what happened? What made you pick Yale?" He asked.

Rory shrugged. "My pro and con list directed me towards Yale."

"Your pro and con list? How didn't I guess?" He smirked.

"Don't mock it until you try it!" Rory said. "Besides, I realised Yale was closer to home which appealed to me."

"Fair enough." Tristan said.

Rory stood there for a minute and took in his appearance. He was bulkier and had shorter hair but he still seemed to be the same Tristan she knew at school. Although he didn't seem to be as cocky or arrogant as he was back then. She then realised why she was even in there. "Oh by the way, thanks for stealing my machine." She said.

"What?" He said confused.

"My clothes were in there." Rory said.

"Oh well someone had dumped some clothes on the floor before I got here so I put them in my basket to keep them dry." He said.

"Oh." Rory said surprised, reaching into his basket and retrieving her clothes. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said.

"So..uh..I should get going. I guess I'll see you around then." Rory said awkwardly.

"I guess so." Tristan said.

Rory left the laundry room, taking one last glance back to see Tristan bent back over to continue putting his clothes into the machine.

* * *

"Tristan? The guy who called you Mary throughout his time at Chilton? The guy who got sent to military school for breaking into a safe? That Tristan? That Tristan is at Yale? To study?" Lorelai asked over the phone.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes mom, that Tristan." She said walking through the courtyard the following morning.

"Wow! Blast from the past then eh?" Her mom said.

"Yeah it was a bit of a surprise." Rory agreed. "It was weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah weird seeing him again after all this time. He was exactly the same apart from not having that cocky 'I'm the king of the world' bravado he had at Chilton." She said.

"Huh." Lorelai said.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Mom.."

"Nothing I swear! I just never expected you to tell me that Tristan was at Yale." She said.

"Yeah well...So any gossip from there?" Rory asked, wanting to get the subject of Tristan dropped especially since she hadn't been able to stop thinking about their encounter from the day before and whether she would see him again or not.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I haven't told you already! Kirk has a date!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Really? With who?" Rory laughed.

"His brother's ex-girlfriend." Lorelai grinned.

"Well sure, trust Kirk to make it complicated." Rory said.

"He reserved a table at Luke's. You can imagine how Luke took that. Kirk left him specific plans for the table as well."

Rory laughed. "I would loved to have been an observer of that conversation."

"Anyway, I'm sorry kid but I have to go. Sookie's got us a catering gig that we need to prepare for."

"Oh cool!" Rory said.

"Yeah you wouldn't be saying that if you knew who it was for." Lorelai pouted.

"Why? Who's it for?"

"Your Grandma."

"Really? For a party?" Rory asked.

"Yeah this launch party she's doing for your Grandpa and Digger Stiles for the start of their business partnership."

"Well I'm sure it will go well."

Lorelai snorted. "Yeah.."

"Mom..be nice!" Rory warned.

"Easy for you to say." Lorelai said. "Oh kid, Sookie's just got here. I better go. Study good."

"Ok bye mom. Try not to kill Grandma."

"I'm not making any promises." Lorelai said.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Bye mom."

"Bye."

* * *

The next day, Rory was heading for her study tree. She had finally found somewhere to work the previous afternoon after escaping the madhouse of her dorm and after finding out her mom and Sookie had tarted up her room. However when she got there today she saw a familiar figure already sitting under it.

"Trying to steal my tree as well?" Rory scowled.

Tristan looked up. "Your tree?" He asked raising her eyebrows.

"Yes my tree! I was studying here yesterday and it's the ideal place to study!" Rory exclaimed.

"Your ideal place to study is under a tree? What's wrong with your dorm?" Tristan asked amused.

"Yes! I spent ages finding it! Paris and Jamie are fighting so the phone is constantly ringing and Paris is refusing to answer it, Janet's on her trampoline all the time and Tanna has the tv on high volume! I've got a tonne of reading to do and this is the perfect spot." She exclaimed.

"What about the library?" Tristan chuckled, enjoying winding her up.

"Tristan!" Rory exclaimed. "Can I please just have my tree back?"

"Depends." He said.

"On what?"

"On what's in it for me." He smirked.

Rory scowled. "What's in it for you is the knowledge that by giving me the tree, I will be able to study and keep up on my reading and therefore won't be flunking out of Yale!"

"How about the agreement that you'll grab a coffee with me tomorrow lunch time?" Tristan smirked.

"What? No!" Rory exclaimed. "You really haven't changed at all have you? Blackmailing me into a date? Very smooth!"

"Who said it was a date?" He chuckled.

Rory hesitated for a moment, surprised. "Because...well..." She stammered. She then narrowed her eyes when she saw him smirking. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Just a little bit." He grinned.

"You know what, forget it. Have the stupid tree. I'll just fail." She muttered, turning to leave.

"Hang on, no need to get dramatic." Tristan said getting up. "The tree's yours."

"Really?" Rory asked, not believing him.

"I don't want to be the reason you flunk out. You would add that to the list of why you hate me so much." He shrugged.

Rory was taken aback. "You think I hate you?"

"Well you obviously don't like me that much or else you have a funny way of showing it." He said.

"I'm sorry." Rory said quietly. "I'm just a bit stressed at the moment. I've got so much work to do and my roommates are giving me a headache."

"It's cool. The tree's yours. I'll see you around, Mary." Tristan smiled.

"Tristan, wait!" Rory said after a moment.

"Yeah?" He said turning back.

"You know the coffee kiosk by the library?" She asked.

Tristan nodded.

"Meet you there at 12?"

"Really?" Tristan asked surprised.

"Well you did give me the tree. The least I can do is buy you a coffee." She smirked.

Tristan chuckled. "See you tomorrow at 12 then."

"See you then." Rory said and she watched him walk away, suddenly getting butterflies in her stomach. _Why was she suddenly feeling so nervous? It wasn't a date. It was just coffee. Wasn't it?_ Rory tried to get Tristan out of her head and sat down leaning against the tree and got to work. She had so much reading to do, it was likely to last the whole afternoon.

When she eventually finished it all, she went back to her dorm where luckily it had calmed down a bit. She heard her phone beep in her message and took it out of her pocket to see that she'd gotten a text. It was from a number she didn't recognise. She opened it and read the message.

 ** _Looking forward to our coffee tomorrow, Mary. You better not bail on me. T x_**

 _How did he get her number?_ Rory wondered. _**I would never bail on coffee. You should learn that about me. x**_ She replied.

 _ **Duly noted. Try not to dream about me too much tonight. ;) x**_

 _ **You wish! See you tomorrow. x**_

Rory then put her phone away and started getting ready for bed. She noticed Paris watching her. "What?" She asked.

"Heard you bumped into someone today." She said.

"So that's how he got my number." Rory said.

Paris shrugged. "Given that you agreed to go out with him tomorrow, I thought it would be ok." She said.

"What? It's not a date." Rory said.

Paris raised her eyebrows. "You told Tristan that?"

"He was the one who said it wasn't a date." She defended.

"Ok..." Paris said getting into bed.

"I swear!" Rory exclaimed.

Paris hesitated before speaking up again. "Just...don't lead him on if you're not interested ok?"

Rory was surprised. In Chilton, Paris had been so against her and Tristan but now it was like she was encouraging it. "Uh..ok.."

Paris nodded before turning off her light and going to bed. Rory sighed before following suit and going to sleep herself, wondering what tomorrow will bring.

 **So what do you think? Do you like it? Want me to continue? Review and let me know! :) Thanks! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow thanks for all your lovely reviews! :) Here's the next chapter! :)**

Chapter 2

Rory headed to the coffee kiosk the following morning. When she arrived, she noticed that Tristan wasn't there yet so she went ahead and bought herself a coffee having bypassed her morning cup due to her getting up early to do some more studying. She was about to pay when she heard a voice behind her.

"I'll get this."

Rory turned to see Tristan standing behind her. "Oh no, you don't need to. I should be the one buying you coffee. That was the deal." She said.

"Nah it's ok. A gentleman always pays." He said handing over money and giving his order before Rory could do anything about it.

"Well..uh..thanks." She said.

"No problem." He said. "Want to sit?" He asked gesturing to a bench in the courtyard.

"Sure." Rory said and followed him to the bench and sat down next to him. "So...how was military school?" She asked, trying to start a conversation.

Tristan shrugged. "It was alright. Taught me a few things." He said.

"Like what?" Rory asked interested. Even though she had only seen him again a couple of days ago, she had noticed a change in him.

"I guess it taught me to think about what I really want to do in life and what I want to achieve. That's why I started looking in colleges. They actually really supported me and helped me get here." He answered honestly.

"That's good." Rory smiled. "I always knew you were able to get into a college like Yale. You just had to concentrate."

"Yeah yeah, you told me so, I know." He smirked.

Rory smirked a little.

"So how about you? How was Chilton? Obviously you and Paris became proper friends." He chuckled.

Rory laughed. "Yeah that was a long and painful journey but she's a good friend now." She said.

"And how about bag boy? He still in the picture?" Tristan asked cautiously. He didn't want to be so forward but he had to know.

Rory glanced down at the floor. "Uh no..we're not together anymore. He's..uh..he's actually married now." She said.

"Married? Wow!" Tristan said. He hadn't expected that answer. "I never would have thought he'd look at anyone else but you." He admitted.

Rory shrugged. "Well, I sort of fell for someone else in my last year at Chilton and Dean, well he met Lindsey.." She said.

"Sorry.." Tristan said. "I didn't mean to pry."

Rory glanced up at him and was surprised to see the concern on his face. "It's ok." She gave him a small smile. "Dean and I, well we grew apart. It wasn't meant to be. Besides, Lindsey's really nice and she makes him happy so I guess that's good."

Tristan nodded. "So this other guy?" He asked.

"Jess.." Rory sighed.

"You two still together?" Tristan asked.

Rory shook her head. "He left." She said quietly.

Tristan could tell she didn't really want to say anymore about that. "So fresh start then here right?" He said.

Rory gave him a small smile and nodded. "Fresh start." She said. "So how about you? How many girls have you dated since leaving Chilton?" She asked, wanting to change the subject from Jess.

"None." Tristan said.

Rory snorted. "Yeah right!"

"It's true!" Tristan said. "I guess at military school we didn't really have time for girls." He said. That was half the truth. He didn't want to admit the other half of the truth which was that he was still hung up on Rory.

"Well I didn't expect that answer." Rory smirked.

Tristan chuckled. "I guess I'm not predictable as you thought."

Rory looked at him and smiled. "I guess not." She said softly. They sat in silence for a while before Rory turned to him. "So you've stayed in touch with Paris then?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded. "We've had each other's emails for years and we've known each other since Kindergarten. Just seemed kind of right to keep in touch with her. Like you've said, she's a good friend."

Rory smiled. "Yeah she is. It's good you've stayed in contact."

Tristan glanced at her after another moment's silence. He wasn't sure whether to go for it or not. Before he had time to think, he heard the words come out of his mouth. "Would you..uh..like to have dinner this weekend? With me?"

"Oh..uh.." Rory said taken aback.

Tristan kicked himself. _Of course she was going to say no. How could he have been so stupid? They were actually getting on._

"I can't..." Rory said.

"No problem. It was stupid of me to ask." Tristan shrugged it off.

"No not like that. It's just I'm going home this weekend." Rory said, having seen the disappointment in his face. "So I won't be here." She clarified.

"Oh.." Tristan said glancing at her. _Was this actually not a no?_

Rory sat there for a moment before glancing up at him. "Maybe sometime during the week?" She said. _Did I really just agree to a date with Tristan?_

Tristan tried to hide his surprise. "Yeah sure, sometime during the week. That works for me." He said.

"Ok.." Rory said.

"Ok." Tristan repeated.

Rory slowly got up. "I should get going. I've got class and then I have to pack." She said.

"Oh sure. I'll see you around then?" He said getting up too.

"Yeah see you around." Rory smiled. "It was nice catching up."

"Yeah. It was." Tristan smiled. "Have a good time at home."

"Thanks." Rory smiled before heading off to class.

Tristan let out a breath as she left. _Had he finally secured a date with Rory?_

* * *

"So let me get this straight..." Lorelai said while walking to the town meeting with Rory. "You're saying you're going on a date with Tristan? The same guy who made your life hell at school?"

"It just came out." Rory said. "I don't know why but he was being so nice and then he looked so disappointed when I couldn't make this weekend and then I just heard myself saying we should do it during the week." She groaned. "Have I gone crazy?"

Lorelai laughed. "No hon, I don't think you've gone crazy. I think, maybe, you might actually want to go on a date with him. I mean you've said he's changed right? He's different?"

"Yeah. He's more focused on making something of himself and not just being the king of everything and having people fall at his feet. All that's gone." Rory said.

"Plus he's liked you for years." Lorelai pointed out.

"What?" Rory said surprised.

"Come on, it's obvious! Why do you think he kept picking on you at school? It's the obvious sign that someone likes you! Plus you did kiss at that party." She said.

"We were both upset when we kissed. It didn't mean anything." Rory said.

"But you still did it." Lorelai said. "Look I'm just saying, if you're starting to like him and think he's changed, why not give it a chance?" She said. She looked over at her daughter. "Or are you...do you still...are you not over Jess yet?" She asked softly.

Rory glanced up at her and sighed. "I don't know." She admitted. "I think I did love Jess."

Lorelai looked at her daughter sympathetically. She may not have been Jess' biggest fan but she couldn't deny the fact that Rory had been very happy with him. "If you need time to get over him, tell Tristan. I'm sure he'll understand." She said softly.

Rory shook her head. "I think I am over Jess." She said quietly. "It's just..I did really love him. And this thing with Tristan, I just don't know what to make of it. Am I ready for another relationship?"

"Well you don't know unless you don't try." Lorelai said.

"I guess.." Rory said. She glanced at her mom. "Thanks mom." She said giving her a small smile.

"I just want you to be happy. So do whatever it is that will make you happy." Lorelai smiled.

Rory nodded and they headed into the town meeting.

* * *

The weekend went pretty quickly. Stars Hollow became the host of The Festival of Living Art which was fun and it let Rory have time to have fun and think about something else other than Tristan. She also went and listened to Lane's band practise after they had found a new guitarist to join them.

Rory was relaxing in her room in the evening on Saturday when she heard her phone beep. She picked it up from her bedside table and opened the message.

 _ **Hope you're having a nice weekend with your mom! Nothing much to report here. Yale's pretty quiet. Tx**_

Rory couldn't help the smile on her face as she read it. She decided to take the plunge and she rang his number.

"Why Mary, this is a surprise! Thought you'd be way too busy to reply, let alone ring!" Tristan answered.

Rory could visualise his trademark smirk on his face. "Yeah well I found some time in my busy schedule." She joked.

"So how's that town of yours? Still crazy?" He chuckled.

"Oh yeah. We had The Festival of Living Art and everyone was painted up to look like famous paintings." Rory grinned.

"My fault. I asked." Tristan joked.

Rory grinned. "Kirk really got into his role. Ended up having a fight with the guy who was playing Judas. You can guess who Kirk was."

Tristan chuckled. "As I said before, crazy town."

"Oh yeah." Rory agreed grinning. "But it's home." She smiled.

"So was that why you rang? To tell me about your town's craziness?" He questioned.

"Yeah and well I was thinking we could agree on what day to have the dinner." She said suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"Oh. Sure." Tristan said surprise but happy that she still wanted to do it. "How about Tuesday? I don't have any classes Wednesday morning." He said.

"Yeah same. Tuesday sounds good." Rory smiled.

"Cool." Tristan said.

"Oh daughter of mine, wherefore art thou daughter of mine?" Lorelai exclaimed coming through the front door.

"Tristan, I better go. My mom's back and she's another bit of crazy to deal with." Rory joked.

Tristan chuckled. "Ok. See you when you get back." He said.

"Bye." Rory said.

"Bye Mary." He smirked.

Rory hung up the phone and went out into the kitchen. "Hey mom!" She smiled. "Got everything from Luke's?"

"Yep two burgers, two fries and boysenberry pie!" Lorelai grinned.

"Great! Let's eat!" Rory grinned diving into the takeout bags her mom had brought home.

Lorelai didn't miss the giddy smile that had appeared on her daughter's face and having heard that she was on the phone when she arrived, she could guess as to what had produced that smile.

 **So next one will have their first date! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please keep the reviews coming, good or bad, as I love hearing what you all think! Thanks! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm really glad you're all enjoying it! :) Here's the next chapter.**

Chapter 3

Rory had been looking at the outfits laid out on her bed for the last half hour.

"Will you just pick one?" Paris said from her bed.

Rory looked over at her. "I can't decide."

"He's going to like you in anything so just choose one." Paris said.

Rory sighed and looked back at her outfits before eventually picking a nice floral dress and a cardigan. Once she got dressed she glanced back at Paris. "Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Sure." Paris said. "So long as it's nothing to do with your outfit."

Rory sat down on her bed and looked over at her. "Are you sure you're ok with me going out with Tristan?" She asked.

Paris was surprised by the question. "Why would I mind?" She said.

"Because at Chilton you hated me when you thought I was going out with him." Rory said. "I just want to make sure. Because I won't do this if you don't want me to."

Paris was taken aback. "You would cancel the date if I wasn't ok with it?"

"You're my friend, Paris. I don't want to upset you. You come first." Rory said.

Paris was quiet for a moment. "I don't mind." She said.

"You sure?" Rory asked.

"I've moved on from Tristan. He's a good friend but I don't like him like that anymore. Besides I have Jamie now." She said. She gave Rory a small smile. "But thanks."

Rory smiled at her. "Ok."

"He really likes you, you know." Paris said. "He's never stopped I don't think."

"What do you mean?" Rory asked.

"Come on Rory, you're not that stupid. He was crazy about you at Chilton. Do you think those feelings would just go away? He's asked about you in emails. Not a lot but just how you were doing and stuff. He's still crazy about you." She said.

Rory blushed a little. "He did say he hadn't dated anyone since leaving Chilton."

"Yeah because he's still hung up on you. Just don't lead him on if you don't want anything more after today. Be honest with him." Paris said.

Rory nodded. "Ok." She said quietly.

Suddenly there was a knock on the dorm room door.

"You better get out there before Tanna scares him away." Paris said with a slight smirk.

Rory chuckled a little. "I'll see you later."

"Or maybe not." Paris said.

"Paris..." Rory said.

"What? You never know what might happen afterwards." Paris said.

"I'll see you later." Rory rolled her eyes and headed out of their room and went to answer the door.

Tristan was standing there in some smart trousers and nice navy blue shirt. "Hey Mary." He said. "You look nice."

Rory found herself blushing. "Thanks." She said.

"Shall we?" He asked.

"Sure. Lead the way." Rory smiled following him out.

* * *

About half an hour later, they were sat in a nice Italian restaurant near Yale having given their orders to the waitress.

"Well I have to admit, I never thought I would be sat in a restaurant on a date with Tristan DuGrey." Rory joked.

Tristan smirked. "Well I've been hoping this day would come for a long time."

Rory ducked her head a bit, self conscious.

"I mean it must have been obvious at Chilton that I liked you. I bought you PJ Harvey tickets and I didn't even know she was a woman!" He said.

Rory smirked at that. "Well do you blame me for saying no? You were being such a jerk to me and those tickets caused Paris to hate me yet again."

It was Tristan's turn to duck his head slightly but this time ashamed. "Yeah well I guess I was a jerk back then. I didn't really think about anyone's feelings back then." He admitted.

"Well it's in the past now." Rory said. "So tell me something. Why did you pick Yale?" She asked.

"It's a good college and I knew Paris was coming here. Thought it would be cool if we went to the same place." He shrugged.

"So in all the emails you and Paris exchanged, she didn't once mention I was coming to Yale as well?" Rory asked.

Tristan blushed a little. "Well..."

"She did, didn't she?" Rory said.

"She might have mentioned it." He admitted.

There was a pause in conversation as their food came and they started eating. Rory glanced up at Tristan. "You know I never hated you right?" She said.

Tristan looked up at her. "Wouldn't have blamed you if you did. I deserved it." He said.

"It's just back then I had just started at Chilton and was trying to fit in. Paris already hated me and then hated me more because you were constantly talking to me and back then...well...back then I had just started things with Dean and I really liked him." She admitted. "But I never hated you. I shouldn't have told Dean that I did that day at school when he came to see me. So I'm sorry." She said.

"It doesn't matter." He said. "Like I said, I deserved it. And like you said, let's leave the past in the past."

Rory smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She said.

"Can I ask you on thing though?" Tristan said.

"Sure.."

"That guy you said you fell for in your last year at Chilton. Is he still in the picture? I know you said he left but could he come back?" Tristan asked cautiously, hoping he wasn't upsetting her by asking.

Rory sighed. "He's not in the picture anymore. I doubt he'll be coming back. He hated it in Stars Hollow anyway." She said.

"Ok.." Tristan said. "I just...if you're not over him, just tell me. I won't be mad." He said.

Rory looked up and saw the sincerity in his face and realised how much Tristan really had matured. She gave him a small smile. "I'm over him. I promise." She said softly.

"I don't want to push you into anything. I really like you Rory. I guess I never stopped but I don't want to push you into anything if you're not ready." He said sincerely.

"You're not." Rory assured him. "Honestly." She said genuinely. "I want this too." She said, realising for the first time that she actually meant it.

"Ok." Tristan smiled. "Good."

Rory gave him a small smile and focused on her food for the next couple of minutes.

They chatted a bit more during the rest of the meal about general things going on in their life and talking about Yale and their classes. After they finished, they asked for the bill which came and immediately Tristan took hold of it.

"Oh no, Tristan, I'm happy to pay my half." Rory insisted.

"No it's fine." Tristan said.

"Tristan.."

"A gentleman always pays on the first date. I mean this is a first date right?" He smirked looking up.

Rory smiled. "Yeah it is."

"Good so no arguments." Tristan said.

Rory rolled her eyes but put her purse back in her bag. "Fine." She said.

* * *

After leaving the restaurant, they headed back to Yale and walked through the courtyard, stopping to get a coffee as they did. This time Rory insisted on paying for both coffees.

"Nope, you paid for dinner. I get to at least pay for the coffees." Rory said.

Tristan smirked. "Fair enough."

Rory paid for the coffees and they sat down on a bench in the empty courtyard as they drank them. She turned to him. "Thanks for dinner. It was really nice." She smiled.

"You're welcome." Tristan smiled.

They drank their coffees in comfortable silence and then Tristan walked Rory back to her dorm. They stopped outside the door.

"So...uh...I need to know. Are we going to do this again? I mean it's ok if you don't want to. I just need to know." Tristan said quietly.

Rory looked up at him and then surprised him by leaning forward and kissing him. She pulled away and blushed a little. "Did that answer your question?" She smiled.

Tristan smirked. "Perfectly." He said. "And you didn't cry this time." He joked.

Rory laughed. She then smiled. "Thanks for dinner. I'll text you ok?" She said.

He nodded. "Look forward to it." He smiled. He then leaned forward and gave her another kiss. "Night Mary." He said.

"Night Tristan." She said softly. She gave him a last smile before letting herself into the dorm. She smiled at Paris who was working in her crafts area in the communal area of their dorm.

"I'm guessing it went well?" Paris said.

Rory smiled. "Yeah it did."

Paris nodded. "Good." She said giving Rory a small smile. "You deserve it."

Rory smiled at her friend and realised how far they had actually come. "Thanks Paris." She said. She then went to their bedroom and pulled out her cell. She rang a familiar number.

"Hello?" Lorelai answered.

"Hey mom." Rory smiled.

"Hey! How it'd go?" Lorelai asked.

Rory couldn't stop the giddy smile appearing on her face. "It was really good." She said. She then proceeded to tell her mom excitedly about her evening and how great it was. Lorelai was happy for her daughter and in turn told her all the gossip from Stars Hollow including a classic Kirk/Luke debate in the diner about why the price of his toast should be cheaper.

 **So I hope you liked it! Sorry it's a bit short but I'll make it up in the next chapter! Please keep the reviews coming as I love hearing from you. Thanks! :)**


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